ARLINGTON – The city has served The Air Station Flying Museum with eviction papers.
Dan Bates / The Herald file photo
For nine years, the nonprofit group has tried to renovate two World War II-era buildings into an aviation museum at the city-run Arlington Airport’s main east entrance.
Despite securing several vintage planes, the group struggled to pay its rent and failed to meet performance terms in its lease with the city. That lease expires at the end of this month.
With the Air Station’s exit apparently imminent, the focus has shifted to who will take it over.
Inevitably, Paul Allen’s name comes up.
In April, the Microsoft billionaire unveiled his collection of vintage warplanes that for years had been discreetly stored elsewhere at Arlington Airport. Many local aviation buffs had hoped Allen would build a museum at the airport.
Instead, Allen opened his west-side hangars for private, pre-arranged tours. The idea was to gauge the market before committing to anything bigger, his staff said at the time.
Eight months later, those private tours have gone over well, said Michael Nank, spokesman for Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection. Tours for about a dozen people on Fridays and Saturdays were booked weeks in advance, despite a $20 admission.
“Through the summer and into the fall, we’ve seen that there’s been a great deal of interest out there among aviation enthusiasts in seeing the Flying Heritage Collection,” Nank said.
With the Air Station space opening up, locals wonder if Allen might have bigger designs in mind. Such ideas were rampant a few years ago when Allen’s company, Vulcan, bought vacant land across the street from the Air Station.
The ideas were kept alive from time to time by hints from the Air Station’s president, Jeff Thomas.
But in April, Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection staff downplayed the connection and insisted the Air Station was a separate endeavor.
That distinction did not quell speculation, though. Since 1998, Thomas has played a key role in collecting many of Allen’s planes, according to a story in the October/November issue of Air and Space magazine. And Air Station volunteers have been leading tours of Allen’s hangars, too.
Even so, Airport Manager Rob Putnam said Flying Heritage staff has simply checked on the status of the Air Station buildings without presenting a proposal.
Nank said he was not familiar with any talks with city officials.
“We’re looking at all opportunities,” he said.
Other investors also have expressed interest in developing an aviation museum there, Putnam said, without giving names.
Airport Commission Chairman Guy Kennedy added that a representative from one other aviation museum foundation visited from out of town to check out the site.
“Once that property became open, you could at least anticipate interest,” Kennedy said.
Even though the Air Station’s lease is expiring, getting all the planes relocated and the legal process finalized could take longer, Putnam said.
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